Irish Céilí Dancing

Irish Céilí Dancing Ballet UP style

Céilí (say kay-lee) dancing is usually social dancing with a partner and as part of a group, and can also been done for performance and competition. Style is with pointed toes and dancing up on the balls or front of the feet, rather than flat feet to the floor, like those for set dancing. They will often have hands held high, rather than low as for many Irish set dances.

The dances are in many forms, for couples or threesomes, in lines, squares and circles, including several in four-couple sets. Popular céilí dances would be The Siege of Ennis, The Waves of Tory and The High-Cauled Cap

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Céilí style dancing also forms part of Modern Irish Step Dancingcompetitions and performances, and is when more than one dancer is dancing together with either one other person (2 hand), group of 4 (4-hand) and group of 8 (8-hand). These dances are usually known as 2-hand, 4-hand or 8 hand jigs or reels.